Chapter 1: The Luxurious Xiao Family Villa

The luxurious Xiao family villa was brightly lit.

Tonight was the seventieth birthday banquet for the head of the Xiao family, Old Mrs. Xiao.

A crowd of grandsons, granddaughters, and grandsons-in-law presented their lavish gifts one after another.

"Grandma, I heard you love tea. This hundred-year-old Pu'er tea brick is worth five hundred thousand; it's my birthday gift for you."

"Grandma, I heard you are a devout Buddhist. This jade Buddha is carved from Hetian jade and is worth seven hundred thousand..."

Old Mrs. Xiao looked at the various gifts and laughed heartily; the whole family was in a joyous atmosphere.

At this moment, Old Mrs. Xiao's eldest grandson-in-law, Ye Chen, suddenly spoke up: "Grandma, could you lend me one million? Auntie Li at the orphanage has uremia and needs money for treatment..."

The entire Xiao family was shocked.

Everyone looked at Ye Chen with incredulous eyes.

This live-in son-in-law was too bold, wasn't he? It was Grandma's birthday, and not only did he not prepare any gifts, but he actually dared to open his mouth wide and ask Grandma to lend him one million?

Three years ago, Old Master Xiao, who was still alive at the time, didn't know where he had found Ye Chen and insisted on marrying his eldest granddaughter, Xiao Churan, to him. At that time, Ye Chen was penniless and was no different from a beggar.

After the two married, the Old Master passed away. Ever since then, the Xiao family had been racking their brains trying to drive him away.

It was just that Ye Chen was indifferent to how he was treated; no matter how others insulted him, he remained unmoved, so he had continued to be a live-in son-in-law in the Xiao family.

Asking Grandma to borrow money today was also a last resort.

Auntie Li from the orphanage, who had taken him in and saved his life back then, had uremia. Dialysis and a kidney transplant would cost at least one million. He really had no other way and could only ask Grandma.

He felt that since today was Grandma's big birthday, if Grandma were happy, she might be willing to help out of kindness.

Unexpectedly, Old Mrs. Xiao, who had been laughing heartily a second ago, immediately pulled a long face.

She slammed the teacup in her hand onto the ground and shouted angrily: "You bastard, are you here to wish me a happy birthday or to borrow money?"

Ye Chen's wife, Xiao Churan, hurriedly stepped forward and explained to Grandma: "Grandma, Ye Chen doesn't know any better; please don't take offense."

As she spoke, she was about to pull Ye Chen to the side.

At this time, Xiao Churan's cousin, Xiao Weiwei, sneered from the side: "Sister, look at the kind of trash you married! Wang Yunfei and I are only engaged and not yet married, yet Yunfei already gave Grandma a Hetian jade Buddha. Your husband, on the other hand, didn't bring any gifts and still has the nerve to ask Grandma to borrow money!"

"Exactly. Brother Ye Chen, we are both grandsons-in-law of the Xiao family, but you, the eldest grandson-in-law, are truly a failure!"

The man speaking was Xiao Weiwei's fiancé, Wang Yunfei, the young master of a local prominent family.

Although Wang Yunfei was about to marry Xiao Weiwei, in his heart, Xiao Weiwei's looks were a far cry from Ye Chen's wife, Xiao Churan.

Xiao Churan was a famous goddess in all of Jin Ling, but seeing that the goddess had married such a wimp, Wang Yunfei was also very unhappy.

"It would be best for such trash to get out of our Xiao family as soon as possible!"

"Exactly! This guy has made the Xiao family lose all face!"

"I think his borrowing money is fake; he's deliberately trying to ruin Grandma's birthday banquet!"

Seeing that the entire Xiao family was targeting and insulting him, Ye Chen couldn't help but clench his fists.

If it weren't for raising medical expenses for his savior, he would have turned and left this place of right and wrong long ago.

However, thinking of his father's teachings since he was a child—that one should repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring—he forcibly suppressed the humiliation in his heart and said to Old Mrs. Xiao: "Grandma, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda; I beg you to show mercy..."

Someone snorted coldly and cursed: "Ye, stop trying to sweet-talk Grandma here. If you want to save someone, find a way yourself. Asking Grandma to pay to help you save someone, who do you think you are?"

The one speaking was Xiao Weiwei's biological brother, Xiao Hailong.

The two siblings had always had strong opinions about Xiao Churan, who was superior to them in every aspect, so they loved to seize every opportunity to mock Ye Chen.

Xiao Churan, standing to the side, had an awkward expression and said: "Grandma, Ye Chen lost his father when he was eight. It was Auntie Li at the orphanage who raised him. His desire to repay her kindness comes from a grateful heart. Please, help him..."

Old Mrs. Xiao said with a dark face: "You want me to help him? Fine, unless you divorce him and marry Young Master Zhang. If you do that, I'll give him one million immediately!"

The Young Master Zhang that Grandma mentioned was Zhang Wenhao, who had been pursuing Xiao Churan. The Zhang family was an upper-class family in Jin Ling, much more powerful than the Xiao family, and Grandma had always wanted to curry favor with them.

At this moment, the butler walked in and said loudly: "Young Master Zhang Wenhao has sent a birthday gift! A Buddha pendant carved from old-pit jadeite, worth three million!"

Old Mrs. Xiao was overjoyed and blurted out: "Bring it here quickly, let me see!"

The butler immediately handed over a bright green jadeite Buddha pendant, and everyone present let out a gasp of amazement.

This jadeite Buddha pendant was emerald green and crystal clear, without a trace of impurity; one could tell at a glance that it was a top-grade item.

Seeing this jadeite Buddha pendant, Wang Yunfei, who had given the Hetian jade Buddha, felt a bit embarrassed. He hadn't expected that this Zhang Wenhao, who had no connection to the Xiao family, would be so generous!

Old Mrs. Xiao happily toyed with the jadeite Buddha pendant and said excitedly: "Oh my, Young Master Zhang is truly thoughtful! If he could be my grandson-in-law, I would wake up laughing in my dreams!"

After speaking, she looked up at Xiao Churan: "Well? Do you want to consider my condition?"

Xiao Churan shook her head: "Grandma, I will not divorce Ye Chen."

Old Mrs. Xiao's expression instantly became extremely gloomy, and she cursed angrily: "You don't know what's good for you! You insist on hanging yourself on this loser! Get this loser out of here! My birthday banquet does not allow this loser to attend!"

Ye Chen was completely disappointed in the Xiao family, and at this moment, he had no face to continue staying in the Xiao family, so he said to Xiao Churan: "Churan, I'm going to the hospital to see Auntie Li."

Xiao Churan hurriedly said: "Then I'll go with you."

Old Mrs. Xiao cursed at this moment: "If you leave too, I won't have you as my granddaughter in the future! Take your father and mother and get out of the Xiao family with this loser!"

Xiao Churan was stunned; she hadn't expected Grandma to say such harsh words.

Ye Chen hurriedly said: "You stay; don't worry about me."

As he spoke, before Xiao Churan could recover, he turned and walked out.

Xiao Hailong laughed behind him: "Oh my good brother-in-law, you're leaving on an empty stomach; you aren't going to the streets to beg for food, are you? If that happens, won't our Xiao family lose all face? I have a coin here; go buy a steamed bun to eat!"

As Xiao Hailong spoke, he took out a coin and threw it at Ye Chen's feet.

The entire Xiao family burst into loud laughter.

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and left the Xiao family without looking back.

Rushing to the hospital, Ye Chen immediately went to the payment office, wanting to communicate with the hospital to see if the medical expenses could be delayed for two more days.

However, when he asked the nurse, he was suddenly informed that Auntie Li had already been sent overnight to the best Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Yan Jing for treatment.

Ye Chen was shocked and hurriedly asked her: "How much will this cost? I'll find a way!"

The other party said: "It costs three million in total. One million has already been paid, and two million is still owed. It must be paid in full within a week."

"Who paid this one million?"

The other party shook her head: "I don't know either."

Ye Chen was surprised in his heart. Just as he was preparing to figure this out, he turned his head and saw a man in a black suit, with slightly graying hair and about fifty years old, standing behind him.

Their eyes met, and the man bowed to him and said: "Young Master, you have suffered for so many years!"

Ye Chen frowned, his whole temperament seeming to change, and he asked coldly: "Are you Tang Sihai?"

The other party said with joy: "Young Master, you still remember me!"

Ye Chen's expression tightened, and he muttered to himself: "Of course I remember! I remember every one of you! Back then, it was you who forced my parents to take me and leave Yan Jing, fleeing all the way. During this, my parents met with an accident and died, and I became an orphan. What are you looking for me for now!"

Tang Sihai said very painfully: "Little Young Master, when your father passed away, the Old Master was also extremely grieved. He has been looking for you for so many years. Now it's good; come back with me to see him!"

Ye Chen said coldly: "You go; I will never see him in this life."

Tang Sihai said: "Young Master, do you still blame the Old Master?"

"Of course." Ye Chen said word by word: "I will never forgive him in this life!"

"Sigh..." Tang Sihai let out a long sigh and said: "Before I came, the Old Master said that you might not forgive him."

"Then consider him to have self-knowledge!"

Tang Sihai said: "The Old Master knows you have suffered these years and asked me to give you some compensation. If you are unwilling to go back, buy the largest enterprise in Jin Ling and give it to you. In addition, give you this card; the password is your birthday."

As he spoke, Tang Sihai handed over a top-tier black gold card from Citibank.

"Young Master, there are only five such cards in the whole country."

Ye Chen shook his head and said: "Take it away; I don't want it."

Tang Sihai said: "Young Master, your savior still owes two million in medical expenses. If it's not paid, the person might be in life-threatening danger..."

Ye Chen frowned tightly: "Are you deliberately calculating against me?"

Tang Sihai hurriedly said: "I wouldn't dare! If you accept this card, it will be enough to pay this money."

Ye Chen asked: "How much money is in this card?"

"The Old Master said that this card is a little pocket money for you, not much, ten billion in total!"